Silent Waters (2004)
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 6
Set in the late 1970s, Silent Waters is a well-meaning but plodding look at the rise of extremism in Pakistan.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 1
Set in the late 1970s, Silent Waters is a well-meaning but plodding look at the rise of extremism in Pakistan.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 860
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Movie Info
Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar directs the political drama Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters). Set in a small Pakistani village in 1979, the film follows widowed family matriarch Ayesha (Kirron Kher) as she struggles under the martial law that declares her country a Muslim state. Her teenage son Saleem (Aamir Malik) is encouraged by his wealthy girlfriend Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla) to get a job. However, he ends up hanging out with a bunch of Muslim fundamentalists and causing trouble for the Sikh
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Cast
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Kirron Kher
Ayesha -
Aamir Malik
Saleem -
Arshad Mahmud
Mahboob -
Salman Shahid
Amin -
Shilpa Shukla
Zubeida -
Sarfaraz Ansari
Rashid -
Shazim Ashraf
Zubair -
Navtej Singh Johar
Jaswant -
Fariha Jabeen
Shabnam -
Adnan Shah
Mazhar -
Rehan Sheikh
Afsaan -
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (6) | DVD (3)
By the time you understand the meaning of its title, Sabiha Sumar's film has delivered an emotional punch.
Top CriticEven behind the veil, the movie tells us, there is dissent -- cinematic dissent.
Silent Waters means well, but falls way short of its mark of enlightening the world to the plight of South Asian women in this period of history. It just isn't believable enough.
The filmmakers provide a well-meaning, well-timed Pakistani portrait.
Although taking place 25 years in the past, director-writer Sabiha Sumar's debut feature has relevance in the world as we now know it.
Sabiha Sumar's debut feature could scarcely be more relevant to Pakistan's present, or, given this country's history of backing such repressive regimes, to ours.
Puts you in the middle of the action and allows you to understand, if not empathize with, all the main characters.
Leaden and dull.
An interesting, if incomplete, picture of a community torn apart by religious zealotry.
Swirls amid memory and dreams while reflecting how much is masked by two-faced rhetoric, and how overlooked the victims of patriarchal nationalism and Islamism are.
As a moviegoing experience, it's a sadly slim proposition.
...sporadically intriguing film that's ultimately sunk by director Sabiha Sumar's occasionally simplistic and melodramatic treatment of the material.
An indictment of intolerance, Silent Waters is a truly powerful picture, and of the sort that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you've left the theatre.
Gripping and ultimately tragic.
A more nuanced approach would have better articulated their allure to impressionable youth.
Stirring on religious and humanitarian levels, and very timely notwithstanding its 1979 setting.
...it presents an engaging and informative depiction of Pakistan's tumultuous history from an intimate perspective.
Audience Reviews for Silent Waters
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Foreign Titles
- Khamosh Pani: Silent Waters (DE)
- Khamosh Pani: Silent Waters (UK)
